The partitioning of India

The partitioning of India was caused by the rift that existed between the Hindus and the Muslims in India. While the differences have always existed between the two, the rise to power of Mohammad Ali Jinnah in the Muslim League was crucial to the eventual partition of India in 1947. As such, it was Jinnah who became the force that propelled the partition of India due to his active participation in the Muslim League. The point of Jinnah was clearly showed that Hindus and Muslims were indeed two different nations.

This was made clear by the declaration of Jinnah during the 1940 AIML conference in Lahore that “The Hindus and the Muslims belong to two different religions, philosophies, social customs and literature… To yoke together two such nations under a single state, one as a numerical minority and the other as a majority, must lead to growing discontent and final destruction of any fabric that may be so built up for the government of such a state. ” The 1947 partition of India was not caused by the two-nation theory but rather by the results of the Second World War.

English participation in the Second World War greatly exhausted the British exchequer and soon after it was decided that the British would facilitate the transfer of power which signaled the end of British rule in India. Without the British involvement in India, it was inevitable that partition would have to occur in the Indian subcontinent for there to be peace. The growing tension between the Muslims and Hindus during this time necessitated that the two groups be separated.

The increased violence that was looming prompted the British to speed up the transfer of power which eventually led to the creation of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Dominion of India. While the two nation theory may seem to be the underlying cause for the Indian Partition, the more compelling reason may be the fact that the British were no longer around to keep the groups from clashing. There was no more incentive or interest for the British to maintain peace and order in the area.